Meta faces a federal trial in Oakland this week as California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey allege Facebook and Instagram were intentionally engineered to addict minors. Jury selection begins Wednesday, opening statements are set for Aug. 18, and the trial could last about six weeks with a verdict in early October. Plaintiffs seek sweeping product restrictions and up to $1.4 trillion in penalties; the advisory jury will hear evidence but Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will set any penalties if liability is found.
Meta Faces High-Stakes Federal Trial in Oakland Over Alleged Harms to Children
The attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey allege Meta deliberately made Instagram and Facebook addictive for children (SEBASTIEN BOZON)
Meta — parent company of Facebook and Instagram — is set to begin a high-profile federal trial in Oakland this week after four US states accused the social network of deliberately engineering its products to addict minors. Jury selection opens Wednesday, with opening statements scheduled for Aug. 18. The trial is expected to run about six weeks, with a verdict anticipated in early October.
What’s At Stake
Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey seek broad operational limits on how Instagram and Facebook work for under-18 users and are pursuing as much as $1.4 trillion in penalties — a figure near Meta’s market capitalization, which recently exceeded $1.5 trillion. The plaintiffs say features such as endless (infinite) scrolling, frequent notifications and visible "like" counts were designed to keep minors engaged.
Background
The case traces back to late 2021, when former employee Frances Haugen leaked thousands of pages of internal research — the so-called "Facebook Files" — that suggested Meta had studied harms to teenage users while publicly downplaying those findings. That disclosure prompted investigations by dozens of states and led to complaints by roughly 30 attorneys general; four states are pursuing the joint federal case in Oakland.
Related Rulings And Litigation
The trial follows several recent rulings and settlements. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable in a teenager’s social media addiction case and awarded $6 million. In New Mexico, a judge ordered Meta to implement product changes and pay more than half a billion dollars to fund treatment and prevention programs; a previous New Mexico jury had ordered $375 million. Meta has appealed or said it intends to appeal these decisions.
Legal Theory And Procedure
Prosecutors are pursuing claims under state consumer protection laws and the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Their strategy focuses on product design rather than user-generated content — effectively sidestepping Section 230-style immunity that usually shields platforms from liability for third-party speech. The four-state plaintiffs arrived at the $1.4 trillion figure by estimating the number of affected users across their jurisdictions.
Who Will Decide Penalties
The Oakland jury will serve in an advisory role; U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers — who has presided over major tech disputes — will determine any penalties if Meta is found liable. The prosecution plans to call high-profile witnesses, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who previously testified in a separate Los Angeles trial. Zuckerberg has spent increasing time at his Hawaii home, though Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters is about an hour’s drive from the Oakland courthouse.
Broader Context
The case is one of many legal actions targeting social platforms. TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube and others face similar lawsuits from families, school districts and prosecutors nationwide. In May, Snap, TikTok, YouTube and Meta settled a Kentucky school-district suit for $27 million to avoid a potentially precedent-setting trial.
Meta’s Response: Meta said it is "confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts," and plans to argue that youth mental-health challenges are industry-wide and that some claims raise free-speech issues.
Members of the public, including parents who say their children were harmed by social platforms, may attend the Oakland trial; an audio-only livestream will also be available on YouTube.
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